Select Jaguars fighting for careers Sunday

Sunday

Jan 3, 2010 at 12:24 AM

MICHAEL C. WRIGHT

Today's game at Cleveland is the last of the 2009 season for the Jaguars.

Provided the team doesn't make the playoffs -- a huge long shot -- it's also likely to be final game as a Jaguar for several prominent players on the roster. Based on performance, contract and other factors, here are five key Jaguars who probably won't be back with the team next season.

CENTER BRAD MEESTER

GP/GS

FIRST GRAPH MISSING. USE DROP CAP STYLE SHEET. 5/15

Overall, Meester has been a productive player for the Jaguars. He has started in 145 games for the team. But age and injuries are beginning to catch up. The club was somewhat reluctant to bring back Meester last offseason, but had few other proven options at the position. The club wants to get younger and more athletic at center, so Meester's chances of returning are slim at best.

Meester is scheduled to earn nearly $2 million in base salary, but that won't factor into the club's decision making. The fact that he'll turn 33 in March in addition to his declining skills will ultimately make the difference.

FREE SAFETY REGGIE NELSON

GP/GS TKL INT

15/14 77 0

Nelson possesses immense physical tools, but hasn't meshed them with the cerebral component of the game. The Jags have lost patience with his lapses in fundamentals and coverage busts.

A former first-round pick, Nelson logged 61, 48 and 53 snaps prior to last week's game against the Patriots, when he played only 14. The drastic reduction in snaps provides insight as to where Nelson stands. Nelson had two interceptions in his second season, enduring somewhat of a sophomore slump. The coaching staff expected the light to finally come on for the former Florida star entering this season. The Jaguars also added competition at Nelson's spot, hoping it would motivate him to perform.

But it hasn't.

OLB CLINT INGRAM

GP/GS TKL SACKS INT

13/12 75 1 0

Landing on injured reserve with a shoulder injury hasn't helped Ingram's cause. He's also set to become a free agent (restricted free agent if there's no new collective bargaining agreement by March and 2010 becomes an uncapped year), and it's unlikely the Jags will pay top dollar to retain his services.

Ingram had played in at least 50 snaps in all but one game until the loss to Tennessee when Johnson ran wild. After that outing, he hasn't played more than 42 snaps in any game.

The emergence of undrafted rookie Russell Allen may make Ingram expendable. Allen started in Ingram's place in three games this season and recorded 12 tackles in two of those.

DE QUENTIN GROVES

GP/GS TKL SACKS

15/6 32 0

Expected to upgrade the pass rush as a second-round pick in '08, Groves has made strides. The question is whether he's made enough.

Privately, the coaching staff questions whether Groves will develop the aggression he needs. Publicly, the team's continuous shuffling of Groves on the depth chart speaks to its growing frustration.

There's a good chance the Jaguars will ask Groves to bulk up in the offseason, and give him another shot to return. It would be difficult to justify cutting a second-round pick after just two seasons, especially if he's made significant contributions (49 tackles, and 2.5 sacks in two seasons). Besides that, Groves' salary for next season is just $470,000.

OFFENSIVE TACKLE TRA THOMAS

GP/GS

8/3

The contract extension given to Jordan Black reduces Thomas' chances of returning. While the Jaguars need depth on the offensive line, $2.3 million in base salary for a backup might be too much. Cost-cutting has been one of the focuses of the new personnel regime, headed up by GM Gene Smith. So it's likely that Thomas will be among those cuts.

Thomas probably would have performed better than starting left tackle Eugene Monroe this season if given the opportunity. In Thomas' first start of the season (Oct. 4 against Tennessee), the Jaguars produced a then season-high 442 yards of offense as David Garrard passed for 323.

But Monroe's status as the eighth overall pick in the '09 draft likely dictated the club's decisions concerning playing time.

Thomas is under contract through 2011, but unless the Jags can get the 12th-year veteran to play at a reduced rate (he's scheduled to make $2.3 million in each of the next two seasons), he likely won't be back.

COACH JACK DEL RIO?

There's a possibility that a loss in today's game could make team owner

Wayne Weaver ponder life without Del Rio. But the coach has two things going for him: the possibility of a lockout in 2011, and the three years remaining on his contract worth slightly more than $15 million.

Jaguars fans generally appear to be clamoring for Del Rio's dismissal, but that's unlikely to happen regardless of the result of today's game.

It's impossible to ignore the job Del Rio and the coaching staff did this season with lesser talent, after the club decided basically to start over in terms of personnel. Nationally, Del Rio was mentioned as a candidate for coach of the year when the Jaguars were 7-5, but after three consecutive losses, the mood has soured and he's been vilified by some of the fans.

The bottom line is that Weaver probably can't afford to eat Del Rio's $15 million contract, meaning at least another season in Jacksonville is likely.

OTHER POSSIBLE DEPARTURES VIA FREE AGENCY

DE/DT Attiyah Ellison, restricted free agent

OT Kynan Forney, unrestricted free agent

DE Reggie Hayward (UFA)

DE Greg Peterson (RFA)

*DT Mwontavious Stanley (RFA)

*WR Troy Williamson (RFA)

* Fourth- or fifth-year players who would be unrestricted free agents if a new collective bargaining agreement is reached prior to March.

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